Rexham Corporation

Klockner Bartelt, Inc.

Jack E Plahm

Frederick C Seiden

Jerald R Wiles

Scott J Veix

Pouches in an interconnected strip are advanced edgewise to a cut-off station where the leading pouch is severed from the strip. Prior to being severed, the leading pouch is gripped by a transfer mechanism which lifts the severed pouch upwardly into pouch clamps carried on the opposing inboard runs of two chains adapted to advance the pouch broadwise through a filling section and along a path extending at right angles to the path of the pouch strip. Before being filled, the pouches are opened by shifting portions of the inboard runs of the two chains laterally toward one another and by pulling the side panels of the pouch away from one another with suction cups. The chains are adapted to be simultaneously adjusted in laterally opposite directions and through equal distances to enable the machine to be changed over to run pouches of different width while keeping pouches of all widths centered with respect to a common datum line as the pouches are advanced through the filling section.

Packaging machine adapted to convert pouches from edgewise advance to

Flexible pouches filled with product are advanced to a steaming station where steam from a steam nozzle is directed downwardly toward the pouches to drive air therefrom. A vacuum nozzle is inserted downwardly within the steam nozzle and into each pouch at the steaming station, the upper end portion of the pouch is closed around the vacuum nozzle and then a vacuum is drawn through the vacuum nozzle to evacuate the air in the pouch. The top of the pouch is sealed immediately after the vacuum nozzle is retracted out of the pouch. To close the pouch around the vacuum nozzle, two heads are disposed on opposite sides of the pouch but are located out of contact with the pouch. Jets of pressurized air are directed from the heads and against the pouch to close the pouch against the vacuum nozzle without creating wrinkles in the pouch.

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Bradenton, FL, United States of America

Jack E Plahm